What Ever Happened To . . . The Mongolian Stomper?

WRESTLING

December 8, 2000|By Ric Russo

Archie Gouldie isn't a Mongolian wrestler, but he played one on television.

For more than 20 years Gouldie combined superior strength, tremendous athletic ability and a menacing look in his portrayal of one of professional wrestling's top bad guys -- The Mongolian Stomper. Wrestlers the world over knew too well the damage Gouldie could do with his size 16 triple E boots.

"Being Mongolian was a popular gimmick back in those days, and Archie certainly had the size and the look,'' said Bob Roop, a former wrestler who competed against Gouldie when they both worked in Florida during the mid-'70s. "He was as strong as an ox ,and he was very good at working a crowd."

Gouldie was big -- 6 feet 6 inches, 275 pounds -- bald and sported a fu Manchu mustache. A few years after he made his debut in 1964, a tag-team called the Mongols burst onto the scene with a similar look and style.

Professional football was where Gouldie originally sought employment, but after getting cut by the Saskatchewan Roughriders of the Canadian Football League during training camp in 1963, he sought out legendary professional wrestler Stu Hart. Hart is the patriarch of the wrestling Hart family and founder of a promotion in Calgary called Stampede Wrestling.

"I was one of the first guys to come out of Stu Hart's Dungeon,'' Gouldie said of his beginnings in the business. "He was instrumental in launching my career. Stu added polish to my technique and showed me ways to strengthen my body."

Gouldie was one of Stampede Wrestling's most popular performers. The Mongolian Stomper held the group's heavyweight championship belt on eight different occasions.

As a main-event talent in the United States, Gouldie worked nearly every major territory in the country.

"I traveled over a million miles. In all I went through 32 automobiles; I wore them all out,'' Gouldie said. "Back then we did almost all of our traveling by car. It wasn't like it is today where a lot of guys travel by airplane in first class."

In 1985 after many bumps and bruises and more than a few run-ins with unscrupulous promoters, Gouldie retired from full-time duty.

"I guess you could say I just grew tired of it all,'' he said. "The traveling is hell and some of the other stuff that goes with it can really wear a person down."

After portraying a heel for most of his career, the 62-year-old Gouldie now works on the side of the good guys. He is a physical trainer for the Knox County Sheriff's Department near his home in Rutledge, Tenn. Conditioning is something Gouldie knows a lot about. He once set a world record by doing 2,800 sit-ups in an hour.

"Toward the end of my career I worked for Ron Fuller's promotion in the South and decided to set up roots in Tennessee,'' said Gouldie. "It's a beautiful area, a lot of good people and I really enjoy my job."

Wrestling fans in the area still recognize Gouldie from his days as the Stomper, and it brings back memories from his early days working in Canada. At that time he worked as a babyface -- or good guy -- in his homeland. Fans would sometimes carry him to the ring on their shoulders.

Gouldie's most memorable feuds in Canada had him playing opposite such vicious villains as Ox Baker and Abdullah the Butcher. When he crossed into the United States in the late '60s, the unusual look and moniker allowed him to make a heel turn with relative ease.

Some of his best runs came in the South. During a stint in Florida, Gouldie captured the prestigious Southern Heavyweight Championship from Pepper Gomez. His tenure as champion didn't last for long, however. Gouldie felt as if he was being taken advantage of by a Florida promoter and soon left the territory.

"Archie was a no-nonsense type of guy. He didn't take too much crap from anybody,'' Roop recalled. "He was making pretty good money, but he felt like he deserved more. When the promoter didn't agree, he bolted."

Success followed. He won championships in Missouri, Tennessee, Texas, Puerto Rico and Alabama. Gouldie even went back to Canada for a short stint in 1984 and feuded with Bad News Allen.

Even though he retired a year later, Gouldie did work an occasional match here and there through 1990.

"Once you get wrestling in your blood it stays there,'' he said.

The end came when he was working a match with a young Bret "The Hitman'' Hart.

"He dropped me on my head one night during a match,'' Gouldie said. "It was very scary for me, and that's when I decided to give it up for good. It was time to move on.